Rodney Penney

When Rodney Penney first signed up to be a skiing volunteer with the Special Olympics North Harbour Club, he never imagined the organisation would become such a big part of his life.

Ten years later he is now Chairperson of the Upper North Island Snow Sports committee, and this was his second stint as Head Coach for the New Zealand Alpine skiing team at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in South Korea.

“It was a privilege and an honour to be part of this team of athletes and volunteers. At the larger events, our athletes really get the drive to do their best, and it’s so moving to see them starting to win prizes and achieve their goals,” says Rodney.

“A qualified skiing and snowboard instructor, Rodney was Head Coach at the 2009 World Winter Games in Idaho. He admits this experience of “how the system works” enabled him to hit the ground running when the team landed in PyeongChang, and to make sure the athletes and newer volunteers were as prepared as possible.